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Ron Tugnutt was a battler when he played goal in the NHL for 17 seasons.

He wasn’t the biggest guy or the most athletic, but he won teammates and fans over with his feistiness.

As the goaltending consultant for Team Canada here at the World Junior Championship, Tugnutt had some spark in his eyes and a fire in his belly Thursday, sour on Canadians who are down on Canada’s goaltending.

Malcolm Subban was in net for Canada’s tournament-opening 9-3 win over Germany Wednesday and was to be in front of the cage again Friday when Canada faced Slovakia in their second of four preliminary round games.

Subban has had his ups and downs coming into the tournament and questions about Canada’s goaltending at the WJC have been a familiar theme for the last three years.

Team Canada coach Steve Spott has moved to try and reduce the potential distraction of a goaltending controversy by declaring Subban as his man for the tournament.

It’s Subban’s job to lose with Jordan Binnington waiting in the wings.

Tugnutt is upset people aren’t giving Subban the benefit of the doubt.

“I was so pissed off,” said Tugnutt of what he feels is unjust criticism of Subban before he’s even had a chance to show what he can do. “What has he got to do with any of those last three years? People are putting him down as a failure before he even has a chance. Everyone in Canada is saying our goaltending is a big failure. We’ve only played one game in the tournament. Give the guy a chance. Give him a chance. Everyone has already discounted him as a failure before we even get there,” he said.

“That’s sad. That’s wrong. He hears it. He knows. There should be some support coming from people. It shouldn’t be we’re going to have failure again. It should be ‘Malcolm Subban is the guy we have been waiting for. This is the guy who is finally going to be that guy.’ That’s what it should be.

“Quit living in the past. People who live in the past are failures. They are going to fail forever. People keep living in the past with this team. I have been here for all of it and he has nothing to do with any of it. We finally have the guy who is going to do what we need him to do.”

Spott was an assistant coach with Team Canada in 2010, winning silver in Saskatoon.

In annointing Subban as his starter, he’s hoping he can put some of the controversy on the back burner. Let’s face it: it’s never really going to go away.

“For me, it’s a mindset. The last three years it seems - and I was a part of it for one of those years - it just seemed to be the hot topic every year. These boys are no different than anybody. They watch TSN. They read the newspapers. I just want to put that story to bed as much as possible. Ultimately Malcolm’s play is going to dictate how far he goes. Right now he is the guy we are going to continue to run with and it’s going to be up to him to carry the ball,” said Spott.

“We all know the pressure that goes along with not only wearing that sweater, but being a goaltender wearing that sweater. It’s a whole different level of pressure. He can handle it. For me, he is the type of goaltender who can brush off a bad situation. He’s able to deal with it mentally. That’s why I think he’s got the right mindset to be our guy.”

Subban, who had a decent game against Germany, has been given the chance to show what he can do.

Like the rest of the team, he needs to improve with each game.

If not, nothing Tugnutt or Spott have to say is going to quell another year of controversy in Canada’s blue paint.

Malcolm Subban sharpening his skills

Malcolm Subban appreciates the chance he’s been given.

Team Canada head coach has made Subban his starter in net and now the job is Subban’s to lose.

“Just knowing that you have the confidence of the coaches and you’ll be playing all the games. That helps a lot, obviously,” said Subban after Canada (1-0) wrapped up a pretty intense practice in preparation for their preliminary round game against Slovakia Friday.

Subban stopped 25 of 28 shots against Germany, but, as Team Canada goaltending consultant Ron Tugnutt put it, Subban, like the rest of the team, had some things to polish up.

Tugnutt wanted Subban to sharpen up his lateral movement and not slide too far out of position.

“He has the ability to make a save most guys can’t make, the game-turning save,” said Tugnutt. “He’s got the ability to continually get in position with the lateral movement against the European teams. He’s the fastest guy, he can get position a lot quicker than the other guys and that’s a real asset.”

Tugnutt addressed the issue with Subban between the second and third periods.

“I just felt there was something he wasn’t doing that he needed to do. I was a little bit firmer on him than I was before. He responded with a really good third period,” said Tugnutt.

Tugnutt wanted Subban to tighten up that lateral movement by using his edges to limit the distance of his slide.

“I think I’ll be more comfortable because I got the first game in,” said Subban. “I’ll continue that from the third period and bring it into the next game. That’s the most important thing.”

Give Malcolm Subban a chance: Ron Tugnutt

Ron Tugnutt was a battler when he played goal in the NHL for 17 seasons.

He wasn’t the biggest guy or the most athletic, but he won teammates and fans over with his feistiness.

As the goaltending consultant for Team Canada here at the World Junior Championship, Tugnutt had some spark in his eyes and a fire in his belly Thursday, sour on Canadians who are down on Canada’s goaltending.

Malcolm Subban was in net for Canada’s tournament-opening 9-3 win over Germany Wednesday and was to be in front of the cage again Friday when Canada faced Slovakia in their second of four preliminary round games.

Subban has had his ups and downs coming into the tournament and questions about Canada’s goaltending at the WJC have been a familiar theme for the last three years.

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